Is everything open ground for comedy or should somethings never be touched?
Asked by
EnzoX24 (
1991)
December 18th, 2008
from iPhone
A couple of weeks ago I was watching an episode of Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia that caught my eye. In it, Frank (Danny DeVito) was torturing Dee (Kaitlyn Olsen) via Waterboarding. I feel like torture is something that should be left alone, but this incident had me laughing my ass off more than I had in quite some time.
Do now I wonder, are some subjects simply untouchable, or are they waiting for a stylish (or simply inappropriate) take on them?
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27 Answers
Kidny problems, because that pretty much the only thing can relate to now.
I dont find anything to be off limits. Its just got to be done right.
Pain + Time = Comedy.
How much time? That’s up to the audience.
In the medieval court, a jester was able to get away with saying what needed to be said, but couched in humor. Comedy can crack open a mind to new ideas in a way that earnest pedantics can’t.
It’s in that spirit that I personally believe nothing should be off limits in comedy.
I think there’s an inherent cost to making off-color and “inappropriate” jokes, so the payoff needs to be worth it. Call me a pragmatic humor aesthete.
Edit: Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE inappropriate humor, but you better do it well.
no no that was a hilarious episode and it was great as is!
The line between comedy and tragedy is very thin, and in fact the best humor does incorporate some tragic elements. There are many examples to show that comedy is a natural human response to tragedy. For that reason, I don’t think there’s any subject that is automatically exempt.
At the same time, humor and ridicule can be very different things. A comedic treatment of a painful subject is one thing, and ridiculing tragedy is something else entirely.
there are definitely some things that shouldn’t be touched, but those things are often pretty funny anyway
I believe that we have to find the humor in everything; if we don’t, what’s to stop us from killing ourselves?
For comedy on tv they can almost turn anything into a joke or a skit, but the only way is if the FDA agrees its ok to show to kids. Cause the tv is cause of our kids to being bad and learning the way they are. LOL. not that I think that, just what they think. So i think anything is able for a comic to use as long as others thinks it’s funny.
@tocutetolive90 while i realize tv turns people into vegetables and couch potatoes, FDA does not regulate tv. That would be the FCC.
Tragedy + time = funny.
Seriously, in a park in the summer where I live there’s a blow up slide that is depicting the sinking of the Titanic. You climb up the iceberg and slide down the ship. Thousands of people died on that boat, and now it’s a source of amusement for many children.
zack: where is this slide? I must have a photo. Sounds like pure awesomeness.
I looked on google images and found that they have them everywhere titanic
this is even better! “One could almost believe the ship is sinking! Who will survive the slide down? This dual slide captures all the excitement of the famed ocean liner on itÕs maiden voyage ”
Amazing adventure in bad taste, isn’t it? The key here is that it’s about a movie, not an event. If even 9/11 could be transformed into entertainment by the medium of television, I guess this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Still, I find it a bit shocking.
Does the same theme park offer you a chance to ride on the Buchenwald train?
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone make a joke about Pearl Harbor, nor would I want to.
Have you ever seen the movie? That was a joke :P
“The line between comedy and tragedy is very thin”
Yes, the former is when it happens to someone else, and the latter is when it happens to you. (Anyone know who said that? I know I heard it somewhere, but I can’t think of where to save my life.)
Mel Brooks once said: Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die.
I’d expect no less from the man who created Springtime For Hitler.
The too soon joke is one of the best. A cringe inducing laugh is a laugh none the less.
I’m going to agree with the South Park guys here and say, “There are no sacred cows.”
And then there’s the line attributed to Mark Twain, who was not known for his reverence: “Sacred cows make the best hamburger.”
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